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The nurse tilted her head toward the door. “They’re right outside.”
“Well, let them in!” She rose from the bed just as the door opened wider, revealing a man and a woman with tear-streaked faces, clutching each other as if afraid to let go. Their eyes locked onto Michael, and in that moment, the world seemed to stop.
“Michael!” his mother cried, rushing forward. She knelt by the bed, gently cradling her son’s hand, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Michael’s father stood frozen for a second before he stepped forward, his large frame trembling as he ran a hand over his son’s head. “Thank you,”he signed to Rhiannon.“Thank you for taking care of our boy.”
A woman hung back in the doorway, her eyes brimming with tears, and echoed his signs in English. She must be their ASL interpreter.
Rhiannon nodded an acknowledgment to her, then signed,“It really wasn’t a hardship. He’s a very sweet boy.”
“I don’t know how we’ll ever repay you,” Michael’s mother signed one-handed.
Rhiannon stepped back, giving them space, her chest tightening with emotion. She couldn’t imagine what they must have gone through—the fear, the helplessness, not knowing if their son was alive or dead. And now, after everything, they were here, reunited.
Michael stirred again, his eyes fluttering open. When he saw his parents, a weak smile broke across his face.“Mommy… Daddy?”
Tears streamed down their faces as they pulled him into a gentle embrace. Rhiannon swallowed hard, blinking back her tears. She slipped out of the room, and the interpreter followed, quietly closing the door behind them.
“Hi,” the woman said and held out a hand. “I’m Sarah, the Bennetts’ friend and interpreter.”
“Rhiannon,” she replied, shaking Sarah’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Sarah’s eyes were still bright with tears. “What you did for our Mikey... it’s incredible. You’re a hero.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far. Pierce saved him. Dottie, Brooke, and Hailey also helped take care of him. I was mostly just his interpreter.”
Sarah squeezed her hand gently. “You gave him a voice in a situation where he otherwise wouldn’t have had one. That’s heroic in my book. Thank you.” She looked through the narrow window in the door. “They’ve been looking for him for days. They walked to the nearest town after the quake and wouldn’t stop pushing the authorities to search the remains of that rest shop for their boy. They never gave up hope. Not for a second.”
Rhiannon’s breath caught in her throat. Michael’s parents were the reason they’d been found. If it weren’t for them, they might still be trapped beneath the rubble.
“Then I owe them a thank you. They saved all of our lives. Please make sure they know that.”
Sarah nodded. “I will.”
Rhiannon walked away, the hum of hospital activity dulling her senses as she turned the corner at the end of the hall and leaned against the wall. She just needed a moment to breathe. To still exist and be thankful for it.
Then she drew herself up, threw her shoulders back, and continued down the hall. Reunions were happening all around her—Hailey with her parents; Dottie with her grown sons;Brooke with her father; the retired couple, Ray and Sharon, with their adult children; Will with his entire large family gathered around his bed.
And the Sasaki family was already on their way back to Japan.
Gage had strangely disappeared as soon as they were rescued, but she figured that was probably for the best.
She heard Alan’s voice coming from one room and hurried by, her face turned away. She didn’t want to see or talk to that man ever again. He hadn’t claimed responsibility for any of the chaos he’d caused. Not one word of remorse for turning people against each other, for almost getting them killed.
Her stomach twisted in disgust at the thought. She tried to force the feeling away. It was unsettling, as if the ground beneath her feet wasn’t as steady as it seemed.
But Alan wasn’t her problem anymore.
Michael was safe. Pierce and Raszta were safe. And that was all that mattered.
She turned the corner and headed toward Pierce’s room, her heart fluttering at the thought of seeing him. He’d protected her so thoroughly that he’d sustained more injuries than even she’d known about. The doctor wanted to keep him overnight for observation and IV antibiotics, which he wasn’t thrilled about. He was even less thrilled when they tried to take Raszta from him. She smiled a little at the memory of him sitting on his bed in the hospital gown, IVs in his arm, holding Raszta like a child who refused to give up his teddy while the nurses and local shelter workers tried to remove the dog. She’d eventually managed to convince the hospital staff that Razzy was his service dog, though they didn’t have the paperwork to prove it.
Rhiannon paused outside Pierce’s room, taking a deep breath to steady herself. She pushed the door open quietly, not wanting to disturb him if he was resting.
Pierce was sitting up in bed, his eyes fixed on the television mounted on the wall. Raszta lay curled at his feet, ears perked and alert. As she entered, both man and dog turned to look at her.
Pierce’s hands moved in a flurry of signs.“How’s Michael?”
“He’s awake.” She moved to sit in the chair beside his bed and grinned. “His parents are here.”
